Queens Park Rangers secured a £15m loan from Barclays Bank in Hong Kong last month, charged against all the club's assets including Loftus Road, significantly borrowing for the first time during Tony Fernandes's regime as majority owner, reports the Guardian. Fernandes and his partners finalised the loan on 18 March, in agreement with QPR's remaining shareholders - the family of the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. All parties insist they "remain wholly committed to the club's short, medium and long-term objectives".

The club says that the Barclays loan could be the first step in a future relationship between the two parties.

A spokesman said: "The club's shareholders have an ongoing relationship with Barclays and both parties were keen to extend this relationship to include QPR, particularly in light of the club's stated plans for a new stadium development.

"Given the current financial climate, it demonstrates the clear backing banks want to give our shareholders and their plans for the club. The loan is personally guaranteed in full by the club's shareholders, who remain wholly committed to the club's short, medium and long-term objectives."